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2 years after his disappearance, Newton man’s body believed found

In the days after his 2013 disappearance, Robert Weaver III’s family distributed flyers asking for help finding him.

Robert “Bobby” Weaver III went missing on Sept. 5, 2013.

More than two years later, Newton County authorities believe they have found his body.

Weaver, a disabled 27-year-old from Covington, was last seen alive walking his dog near Ga. 142 and Stone Road. In the days after his disappearance, authorities searched the nearby area and interviewed possible persons of interest, but to no avail.

But on Saturday, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office and the Community United Effort Center for Missing Persons decided to expand the search area. Around 1:30 p.m., they found “human remains in heavy thickets” about a mile from the area where Weaver was last spotted in 2013, Newton sheriff’s Sgt. Cortney Morrison said in an email.

Because “personal identifying documents” were found with the body, authorities believe the remains are Weaver’s. The Newton County coroner and Georgia Bureau of Investigation will work together to confirm the identity, Morrison said.

What led to Weaver’s disappearance — and apparent death — remain unclear. In 2013, authorities said foul play was not suspected.

“It is still an open investigation and we are still collecting evidence at this time,” Morrison told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday.

Weaver had been diagnosed with Arnold-Chiari malformation, a structural defect in the part of the brain that controls balance. He was also being treated with methadone, authorities said in 2013.

In the days after his disappearance, Weaver’s grandmother told The AJC that it wasn’t like him to vanish. He left home without medication or other belongings, she said.

“He’s never, ever left home,” Evelyn Weaver told The AJC. “This is nothing that he does. I am dying every minute that he’s gone.”